Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Riding Jacket and Pants Review



After my recent accident, I have become more safety conscious thus ordering riding pants and shit like that. Jumping on the bandwagon was some of my friends who decided to join me on my purchase. My partners and I have dealt with this company before in purchasing riding gear. He bought a vest and I bought my custom gloves รง click on the link.

Anyway, so I was checking out some of their products, and as usual I was trying very hard not to look like a superbiker on a chop. I found these really nice pair of pants and decided to order them. On of my customers decided to order a riding jacket from my supplier too so it was great! I got the opportunity to test out some new gear.

THE PANTS: When I ordered them, I was worried if they would be of shabby quality. But when they arrived, I was quite impressed. I had been to big shops selling riding gear and I must say this was on par. The material was Cordura and was waterproof. Each design has different things in it so I will only talk about the one I got. So there it was, waterproof Cordura material. And to my surprise, there was a removable inner lining to keep you warm, hip and knee pads. This would be great for those who wanted to double this pants for snow mobile riding and stuff. In Malaysia it was definitely overkill. The pants comes with 4 pockets. 2 side pockets with waterproof ykk zippers that are extra secured with Velcro covering them for extra waterproofing. There are cargo pockets that are Velcro protected as well but I forsee water seepage as there were no zippers.

The back of the pants had a zipper that allows you to zip your jacket to the pants as for those that are compatible. The fly of the pants is quite interesting. It is held together by 2 snap buttons, the normal fly zipper and also a Velcro flap that covers the zipper. For added protection, even after you unzip the pants, the fly is covered by a piece of flap across the back of the zipper so rain doesn’t seep in. sucks when you really need to pee, but for those who ride in the rain, you know that your fly is the first place to get wet and YOU KNOW the shitty feeling cold rain water on the crotch gives you.

THE JACKET: Now, before you start with the dissing and saying how fucked up looking the color is and that it looks like you can see it via google earth etc, PLEASE PLEASE know that I already did all that.. hahahah… well this was a special request from the owner of the jacket (which you can see in the pictures) so, unwillingly, I had to order it this way. Anyway, upon receiving this jacket, after being snow blinded by the color, this jacket is made with the same material as the pants. Waterproof Cordura. The build quality is quite good. It comes with 2 outer pockets that are waterproof, 1 inner pocket, 2 pockets on the inner lining, an inner warmer lining, guards on the back, elbow and shoulders, it has zipper vents on the inner bends of the sleeves for cooling and adjusters for the sleeve for a better fit.

The jacket is quite sturdy the fitment is good. All zippers are heavy duty ykk zippers and very durable (the owner zipped it wrong but it still came out undamaged). The product itself was good, the collar was high enough that it just about tucks in for full face helmets to reduce rain seeping into your collar. This jacket supports connecting to a pair of pants so it was quite good that the owner got the whole set. Practically, the entire suit keeps you dry as a bone.

We did run afew tests on the items to see how it would work in simulated events (cant test them because I didn’t own the jacket and my hand was still in a cast)

THE TEST:

Skid test: I ran both items on a skid test. For the pants, I wore em, took a run and skidded across the floor. I couldn’t really wear the jacket but I did test the sleeve the same way by putting on just the sleeve.
Findings: it seems that the pads absorb the impact to the ground (I wasn’t gentle) and I barely felt a thump when I landed. The material held on and there wasn’t a scratch on it. This simulates a slow traffic collision or a “jackass fall”

Splash test: a splash test is to test water RESISTANCE. A simulated event where in light rain or riding through a puddle may wet your gear. Just get a spray bottle and squirt around the gear to see what happens.
Findings: for the pants, the flexible area absorbed the water but it did not feel wet nor did the inside of the pants get wet. As for the normal Cordura areas, water beaded up and fell off. Those beads that did not fall off fell while you moved. Same goes for the jacket, it just beaded up and fell off.

Waterlogging test: in this, it simulates a common occurrence when you are riding. Folds appear on your jacket sleeves and certain areas, the pants crotch area is a common area for waterlogging because when you sit it makes a little bowl where your balls are. This area is always the first to get soaked and makes you feel like you peed.
Findings: cupping the material for both the pants and the jacket, and putting water on it to sit like a bowl (my dogs drank from it), there was no seepage at all after 5 minutes in that position.

Drench test: this test is done to simulate moderate to torrential rain. Many items I have tested in the past never pass the torrential rain part except for rain specific gear. With this test, I use 2 types of water hose heads, medium pressure water disbursement and high pressure focused disbursement (warning, painful to balls.. but fun for the guy holding the hose).
Findings: passed with flying colors, feedback from the drench test idiot dummy: other than the shot in the balls, crotch area just feels cold. No water leaks at all.


All in all, I would say the items were quite good. The only down side is that I should talk to the manufacturer about custom zippers for the pants for ventilation as it get VERY hot on a sunny day.












By Vy

The Crash


So it has been a long time since my last post. This was generally due to a new job I had gotten. Seeing that now I had to work a normal day job and dress “appropriately”, my job didn’t give me much time to blog privately nor on this page. Even so, the only riding I got was to and from work. So, during that time, I decided to do my 17 inch rear wheel conversion.  It took quite some time but it was done well. I even used a superbike tyre for better grip.

So one day I decided that I have had enough riding starvation and wanted to test out the new tyres to carve corners. As the bike lanes in Malaysia are riddled with nice but dangerous turns, I decided to do it there (also because I live right there). Since I was riding to and from work with the narrow  “barely 1 car wide” lanes everyday, I was familiar with it by then.

The best part is, the advice I tell everyone as a rider in Malaysia for so long is “never use the bike lanes” I didn’t listen to my own advice. As I was preparing to go for my solo ride, i was planning what to bring with me. I knew I was going to speed so obviously my helmet would be in full face mode. I wore thick jeans and my safety boots (which I swear by because I have crashed hard and hurt my feet quite badly before. As  was about to wear my leather jacket, I looked out at the hot sun, shrugged and put it back down thinking of the heat. As such I thought it would suck if I were seen wearing my gloves without a jacket. So I didn’t. then, thinking to myself, if I crashed and my phone was in my pocket, I would break and I can’t call for help; so I placed that in my phone pouch on the handles.

Dressed in a thin shirt I was given by one of my company subsidiaries, I went off for my ride. Each lap was at least 15 to 20km and with barely any straights to rest, it was a challenge. I went 4 laps and on each corner I pushed the bike faster and faster scraping the pegs trying to find out how fast I can push it before I can’t anymore. By the 4th lap, on the beginning of the last quarter, I had pushed the bike to turn at 90kmh. I know how most of you may think “bah big deal” but consider this, I was on a dragstar that was lowered by its previous owner at least 2 inches, the lane was so small 2 bikes of my size could not ride next to each other comfortably, and it was a 90 degree turn. Knowing that the front disks were warped (wasn’t because of me), I took that chance anyway.

Before I leaned into the turn where the crash took place, here are the things that happened.
1.      I was dehydrated
2.      I was overconfident
3.      My favourite song was playing in my headset
4.      My front brakes didn’t work well
So, me being thirsty and tired, I was focused on getting to the pit stop up front for a break. Being overconfident, I did not expect  the turn to be that sharp and thought that I had space to lean still. As my favourite song played, I knew that if I sang along, I would lose some concentration but did it anyway..

Once I took the turn, I knew it had gone wide, I throttled it to try to keep it leaned in but realised that I had reached its limit. My bike was scraping on the frame. It must had lifted the rear tyre slightly as I tapped on the rear brakes because the rear gave way. Still throttling, I tried to correct my trajectory with the front brakes but because the disks were crooked, I couldn’t apply the proper amount of pressure to steer.

The condition of the bike lane didn’t help as well as the government had tarred the place over so many times that it made the side of the already narrow lane into a sort of ditch. As I rolled into the grass, I blinked and felt impact. I had hit the railing. As I opened my eyes, I was doing airtime that would make a skater blush.

When I came to my senses, I was facing face down in the grass with my full face on. Before getting up, I checked to see if anything was broken. At the time my right thumb hurt so I had assumed that it was a bad bruise; experience taught me to keep it close and not to move it. After assessing the damage to my body, I found I was quite badly scraped up and sprained my leg.

I walked around to find my phone and started calling my friend (and always the guy who rescues me) EelMan and my wife. While waiting for EelMan and my wife, some random Chinese dude on a KR150 pulled up and helped me out. There was also a random malay guy who asked me if there was anything he can do for me. The strange thing about the Chinese man on theKR150 now that I think about it is very similar to a friend I know called Zachary. I swear they are very similar but it couldn’t be Zachary because he cant speak Chinese.

Anyway, away to the hospital, and I was found to have:
1.      Broken scaphoid bone
2.      Bruised ribs
3.      Badly sprained left ankle
4.      A hole in my shin
5.      A small cut under my right arm (seems like hard impact)
6.      A cut from the right of my stomach spiralling all the way to my back on the right.
I have been in a fiberglass cast for 4 months and am finally free but only have under 50% movement to my wrist.


I would say although it was painful and scary for many people around me, I was glad I did it. It was the ride of my life. And I can proudly say “who says choppers cant turn?” the things I did take back from this accident was that I should source for new shocks, a good helmet is worth the money, wear safety gear and DON’T RIDE ON THE BIKE LANE!

By Vy






Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Matador Drag Bars


Been awhile since I have updated much about my bike… if you have seen the pictures, you will notice that I am using a beach baumer handlebar (one of 2 of the handles given to me). Now, seeing how accessories are expensive here in Malaysia, I had to think of something… was thinking of trading my ape hangers for something else but nothing I liked was around for trade. So I found a pair of risers from my regular shop and decided to try out the welders skills… he cut my apes and made a simple little cut and paste with a twist. We powdercoated it and tried it out…

What I feel so far:
-          I'm stretched forward so my spine absorbs bumps and holes much better. Now, some of you may not feel it, but I do because of my spinal issues. I had the theory that it helped because I used to ride a rigid with a bad spine. Seems I was right.
-          Able to take corners much better now. It is more stable when leaning in.
-          Stable on the straights.
-          I don't feel like flying off while riding fast. Feels great.
-          Only bad point: Sucks at U turns.

 Before

 After


 My Mechanic Removing The Handles

 Naked Bars

 The Powdercoat Guy Said He Has All Colors, As Long As Its Black

A Closeup of the Dragbars With A Twist

 Before

 After




By Vy

Engine Polishing / Diamond Cut

These are what you need:
- small sand paper applicator/ sand paper on a stick
- 150 grit sand paper.
- 100 grit sand paper
- sander if you have one.

- use the sander or your hand to sand the block with 150 grit sand paper. if you are using a sander, just roughly do it then use your hand for the parts you missed
- (obviously) only sand the outside of the fins
- use a stick or sand paper applicator to get those hard to reach places.
- sand in an orbital motion to make it very nice and shiny.
- once the paint is stripped, use the 100 grit (or 80 if you want a rougher look) and sand in ONE direction only.
- be very careful when doing this to avoid any accidental sanding of parts you dont want sanded.
- wash your bike after... viola


 Sandpaper Applicator

                               Before                                                                        After

                                     
Completed

By Vy

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

LS2 FF393 Convert Evo Aka Transformer

This is my review of the latest product I own. Recently, I had adopted a husky that was deprived of its childhood. So training it is a little tough. One day, while I was out, she escaped her cage and destroyed some things. Unfortunately for me, one of the things she munched on was my very favorite ¾ open face helmet.

Before this had happened, I was looking around for a 180 degrees modular helmet i.e. the Shark Evoline 3 and some other brands. Then while at a bike accessories store, I had come upon this brand spanking new 2013 model from LS2 that mimicked the Evoline 2 (this is because the visor has to be up before you can remove the chin bar.

Why did I choose this helmet when I'm riding a cruiser? Well here are a few reasons:

My handle risers are REALLY SHARP SPIKES that stare at me while I'm arched over speeding. -Being a rider of many bikes, I have done my share of falling and have had my share of “ouch” moments. I know what the spikes can do to me upon frontal impact.

I wanted a helmet that had a tinted inner visor and clear outer visor. –I have an issue with my eyes whereby I have to wear sunglasses till the sun don't shine. But it doesn't mean that it makes me batman or have night vision. No, I can’t see in dark roads just like you. So a clear visor though not as cool, does the job

I wanted a 180 degree rotating modular helmet. –Seeing how those spikes are there, a full face function when riding fast is a good idea, not to mention your head doesn't fly everywhere and you don't get the “parachute” effect. But I also like the wind in my face while not looking like I can receive satellite tv while the dumb chin bar is up.

So that's the reasons why I wanted one of these.. though they don't suit a cruiser much, at least its better than a full face helmet all the time.

Now, back to the review:

Being generally a full functioning full face design helmet, one does not expect the front visor to cover you all the way down to your chin. The visor covers up to past your nose, and seems to be just fine there. In open face mode with the visor down, you do not get any wind blowing in your face (tested other helmets that cover half your face, wind bends in and hits your eyes making it very tiring.

The helmet is very well vented with a very big glove friendly vent on the top of the helmet and a not so glove friendly but very big in air flow vent on the chin bar. There are 2 very nicely frenched in exit vents, some air grooves and a low spoiler on the back of the helmet.

On the left side of the helmet is a very big glove friendly swivel switch that is spring loaded for the inner tinted visor. If you are new, it will take some time to find with your hand but once you get it, I found its ok.

The chin bar is generally made of some hard impact resistant plastic that doesn't look too flimsy and the sides are latched with latches made of metal.

The rotation of the chin bar is managed by some grooves and some type of locking mechanism when you push it to the back of the head. However, I recommend that if you are planning to convert on the fly, don't lock both sides down. Instead just push one side in so it locks to make the one handed operation easier while riding.

The padding of the helmet is made of something called Outlast. It is advertised that this material is used to regulate the temperature in the helmet. How much it really helps I have no idea yet. However, my head was quite cool when I was riding but I think that it is due to the very big vent on the top of my head. The inside padding for the helmet was quite interesting as the sides where you temple is is slightly softer than the rest of the helmet. This is to make it more glasses friendly which is  a good thing for a 4 eyed old man like me.

The latch of the helmet is a little annoying as it is one of those 2 handed operation types where although it's a clip on, it needs 2 hands to remove it unlike those old car safety belt buckle types previously. A little annoying, but I don't mind.

I didn't test it in full face mode much today but, in open face mode with the visors down, I heard a lot of wind noise. Which is something I generally don't get from my ¾ open face helmet, that makes it something new. Being a full face by design, the side views are a little restricted too but that is normal for a full face helmet.

I had the opportunity to convert the helmet on the fly while riding earlier as a car was being an asshole. Its not much of an issue, but one had to push the outer visor up and then convert.. but the stability the full face mode gave me while I was speeding was crazy! Very little wind resistance and I didn't feel like my head was about to be ripped off.

Anyway, this is my initial review for now.

Good: sturdy, doesn't flounder in the wind, it looks friggin sick
Bad: wind noise, it is very heavy, if jawline locked in place, very hard to convert to full face on the fly.









EDIT: a couple of months ago, i had gone for a ride to blow off steam from work. i took a 90 degree corner wide in a narrow bike lane. i was doing it in full face mode. this helmet saved my life! THATS how good it is


By Vy

Monday, February 25, 2013

Steel lined gloves

As I had mentioned some time back in my previous post, I had recently purchased a vest for my friend Eelman and gloves for myself.

These gloves are generally impossible to find here in Malaysia and I was lucky enough to get in contact with a place that makes them. They are generally gloves where the protection for the fingers and knuckles that are usually made of carbon fiber (in my previous gloves) or PE are replaced by stainless steel.

The first time I saw these gloves was while I was watching biker buildoff. Matt Hotch was wearing them at the end of the build and they were then made by Icon. The model name is Icons TiMax which is now no longer in production.

When I first got the gloves, I was quite happy about it. Then when I touched it, I was surprised by how soft they were. Apparently they WERE real leather… it was just that I was not used to it as gloves here in Malaysia are generally bought and stored for a long time and eventually harden before you ever buy them. The only unfortunate thing was that though sizes in Malaysia, I wear an XL, these were one size too big for me. I had gotten quite worried about it but a good friend of mine says that after riding in the rain (which is like everyday here), it will slowly shrink. From what I can tell right now, they are slowly but surely shrinking. And if it doesn't shrink enough, I’ll just do the old warm water and rubbing alcohol trick.

Well, it has been a week (or less since I'm not always going to work) since I had worn them, the gloves are starting to feel ok and I'm getting used to wearing it. At first, I was concerned because my old gloves were racing gloves with the thicker, rougher leather that provides grip for the throttle. After a week of trying them out, I don't feel weird with the gloves anymore and feel that it is a part of me now when I ride. They also keep me warm in addition to my jacket as the long gauntlet covers the sleeves at night.

As I had mentioned, though the grips of the glove does not have the thicker and rougher palm section, the palm section is sewn with another layer to help a little. Quite like a slider for when one falls.

The fingers were sewn in sections to allow easy movements of the fingers and the gauntlet is very very wide to allow my thick jacket sleeves to go in.

Now, riding to work and all over the place has become slightly more fun as it attracts even more attention as I am riding. Talk about bling.










By Vy

Monday, February 18, 2013

Visor Water Resistance


For most people with open face helmets, you will sometimes notice that riding in heavy rain, there will be some rain water that will drip into the inside of the visor... thus blurring vission.... this isnt to stop the rain water from fully entering, but hindering it slightly.

Things needed:
  1. Rubber strips
  2. Silicone double sided tape
  3. Shears
  4. Helmet (duh)


  • Cut the length of the rubber strip that you need
  • Cut the thickness of the rubber strip to what you need
  • Line the strip with double sided tape
  • Stick it to your helmet








Simple right? Yet so many people dont do it... because they never think about it....

Do it now, you will thank me when it rains.


By Vy

Vest review:

I have recently helped a good friend of mine purchase a leather vest from a supplier. It just so happens I was looking for steel lined gloves. I was very very inspired when I first saw them being worn by Matt Hotch in one of the biker buildoffs. And found a company making some that were similar. But that's another story.

The thing is, here in Malaysia, the choices of design for vests are very limited and can range from 150 to 200 bucks for even a smelly used one that looks like it was worn by a girl in a mud wrestling match. Thus, since I had some contact with a supplier of leather products, we both decided to try buying a part each. Me with my gloves, and my friend (Eelman) with his vest.

The night I received the parcel, I quickly rushed over there to give it to him. This is what I have found so far:

The vest comes with a button up style fastener instead of a zip up. In my opinion, though it is slightly slower than having a zipper, it definitely is something very different. The buttons are very sturdy and hold on tight.

It comes with 3 pockets: 2 up top and 1 inside like a gun pocket but not really. The front 2 pockets are on the chest area with buttons for sealing as well. The inner pocket is an open type pocket something like those of a normal textile jacket.

This vest although slightly thicker than general vests is very soft and seems to have been pre-conditioned. However, it is a good idea to maintain it by applying mink oil to it.

The build of the vest resembles a T-shirt that has had its sleeves cut off. Thus just a little different. People here seem to be calling it the “sons of anarchy” look. I wouldn't know.







By Vy